Confectionery giant Cadbury has denied allegations of an infestation in its Indian products. This follows last week's assertion by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the western Indian state of Maharashtra that it had found insects in Dairy Milk chocolates.
The BBC reports that a live insect was found in one pack of Dairy Milk and a dead insect in another. The FDA has since ordered the state-wide seizure of the product.
In response, Cadbury says that the problem is most likely to have been caused by poor storage, as opposed to any hygiene problem in manufacturing. It says since chocolates require specific care and attention in storage, the problem could have been with a particular retail outlet.
The company added that having examined all the samples coming out of its Bombay factory, it is satisfied that they are all of good quality and free of any infestation.
The UK-based company supplies 650,000 retailers in the country, and is India's leading chocolate company, selling more than a million bars there every day. Unsurprisingly, the incident has attracted a frenzy of publicity in the region.